I Just Can't Keep Hanging On
by atruewriter
Summary: "I won't betray him." WARNING!mention of rape!
1. Chapter 1

_Declaimer: Harry potter and Vampire Diaries do not belong to me. If they did I wouldn't be here ;)_

A/N= Hi everyone :) This is my first story. I hope you enjooooy!

* * *

_Hermione groaned as she was dropped to her knees by the two Death Eaters beside her. She lifted her head and looked at Voldemort who was staring back at her. One of the Death Eaters smacked her head from behind "You filthy mudblood! How dare you even _look _at our lord?"_

_Voldemort raised his hand calmly and silenced him."Leave"_

_The two Death Eaters bowed before turning to leave the room. Voldemort stood up from his chair and walked towards her slowly. Hermione lifted her head again and looked at him strait in the eyes. He was the most horrifying creature she had ever seen. He didn't even _resemble_ a human being anymore. His grayish lips turned up into a smirk as he noticed the look of disgust on her face "My physical appearance was only a small price to pay Hermione. May I call you Hermione?"_

"_No" she snarled as she tried to get up on her feet. "You may _not._"_

_Voldemort looked at the struggling Hermione with a look of amusement on his face "Just tell me where to find him Hermione. I'll spare you and your family. Lord Voldemort is merciful."_

_Hermione finally stood up on her feet. There was a few seconds of silence before she suddenly did the unthinkable. She _spat _on __Voldemort's face. Voldemort cast the cruciatus on her before she could even blink and she was withering on the ground for a good twenty seconds, crying out from the pain._

_Voldemort vanished the spittle from his face before taking a deep breath "You will regret that mudblood." He hissed "You will regret protecting Harry Potter. And you will regret killing your family"_

"_You leave my family alone!" she screamed. _Thank goodness they're safe…

_Suddenly Lucius Malfoy apparated into the room "You called my lord?"_

_Hermione shortly wondered how Voldemort had summoned Lucius without even a flick of his wand but that thought was cut short as she heard Voldemort's next words "Take her to the dungeons. You have my permission to use any means necessary to get the needed information. Now leave." he hissed ._

_Lucius grabbed her arm and apparated from the spot._

* * *

Hermione was thrown into a dark and smelly cell. Three Death Eaters followed her into the cell with smirks on their faces. Hermione instantly felt sick. She didn't know what they planned to do with her but judging by the excited look in their eyes in couldn't possibly be anything good.

One of the Death Eaters that she had recognized as Crabbe Sr. grabbed a fistful of her hair and roughly pulled her head backwards "Listen closely mudblood, you have two options. You'll give us the location of Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix and our lord may let you live. You don't tell us the location and you will be tortured to insanity and die the most painful way you can possibly imagine. What will it be mudblood?"

Hermione stared at Crabbe defiantly "I will _never_ betray Harry, and I won't betray the order." she said confidently "You can torture me as much as you want. I won't tell you where he is you vile Death Eater-"

"Crucio!"

She fell to the ground, her screams echoing off the walls. When the curse was lifted one of the other Death Eaters came to stand beside Crabbe "Is your answer still the same mudblood?"

Hermione gave them a week grin, her teeth bloodied from biting down on her lower lip "Go to hell."

Before the other Death Eater could curse her Crabbe put a hand on his arm and stopped him "Bring me my son Macnair. I think he will be happy to help us with this. The girl, however filthy she is, is quite attractive. I see no reason not to treat her like the whore she is."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears, fear gripping her heart "No!"

Crabbe looked down at her with an ugly grin on his face "Protecting Potter will be the worst mistake you ever make mudblood. I'll make sure of that."

After Macnair left the cell in search of Crabbe's son, Crabbe raised his wand and did a quick spell that vanished all of her clothing except her underwear. Hermione raised her hands to cover herself as best as she could, a sob escaping her lips.

Crabbe licked his lips "Yes, this will be fun indeed..."

* * *

_**4 hours later**_

Hermione was left sobbing on the floor, every part of her body screaming in pain. "Somebody help me…" she whispered in between her sobs. Her eyes fell to the dried up blood between her thighs before she quickly closed them and took a deep breath. No… she had to stop. She had to _think_. Nobody could save her now except herself. There would be time for pain later. Right now she needed to calm down.

She cleared her head the best she could and stopped crying slowly. She wasn't weak. She would get out of this.

"HEY!" she yelled in a shaky voice "I'm ready to talk now! Take me to Vol- to your lord!"

Suddenly Dolohav apparated into the cell, looking big and menacing. This was the first time she had saw him since the department of mysteries. Her heart rate instantly sped up in fear.

Dolohav looked at her nearly bare body with a grin on his face "Good to see you again mudblood. You look like you've been having fun."

Hermione's mind instantly blocked all imagines of the _fun_ mentioned. No…no she would not cry…she would _not cry_. "Take me to…your lord."

Dolohav chuckled before grabbing her arm and yanking her towards him. He let one of his hands trail down her body, pausing at her breast briefly and giving it a slight squeeze before continuing its path "But I want to have fun too."

Hermione's body froze in fear. This couldn't be happening again. No no no no…

Suddenly she felt the pull of apparition and fell on the floor. She lifted her head. Voldemort was standing in front of her. Looking as evil and vile as he always did. He looked at her with fake pity "You could have avoided this if you had just listened to me Hermione. But no matter. As they say, it's better late than never. Now…tell me where to find Harry Potter."

"I don't know where he is."

"Dolohav!"

"Wait!" Hermione yelled, panicked "I don't know where Harry is. But I can give you the location of the order's headquarters."

"Where?" he asked impatiently.

"It's in…it's in America. Mystic falls. But it's highly protected. Only the members of the order can get in. If anyone outside of the order were to get in they would have to be accompanied by an order member. An alive one." She said nervously. "T-There shouldn't be many order members there right now. Probably just H-Harry and a few others."

Voldemort stared down at her with a thoughtful expression on his face before nodding "I am putting my trust in you Hermione. If you are lying…your family will be the ones to pay. And believe me when I say that they will pay dearly."

Hermione tried not to look too relieved. She had hidden her parents well. Not only were they in another country, their house was also under the fidelius charm and she was the secret keeper. Yes, her parents would be safe.

"You will accompany my Death eaters there tomorrow. I hope for your sake, that you're not lying"

For my sake. Right

"Take her."

* * *

Damon looked at the blond original vampire sleeping beside him and let out a small groan. This was just great. What the hell had he been thinking? Sleeping with Rebekah? This was bad. Sure she was great in bed but that didn't change the fact the he wanted to rip out her throat most of the time.

He sighed and got out of bed. After he took his shower he saw that Rebekah was still sleeping. He rolled his eyes. _What the hell? Let her sleep. _He told himself. They_ did_ just have mind blowing sex. What was the harm in letting her sleep in his bed?

He put on his clothes and went downstairs. He needed a drink if he was going to deal with Elena's whining today. No doubt she was going to find out about this and go all judgy on him.

But before he could reach the liquor cabinet suddenly four people appeared in front of him with a loud pop.

"Kill them Damon!" the woman screamed. Wait, Hermione? He knew better than to hesitate. He quickly snapped all three of the men's necks in less than 3 seconds.

Hermione looked at him with the most relieved expression he had ever seen and before he could say anything she fell on her knees crying. Damon rushed beside her "Hermione what happened? What are you doing here?"

She grabbed Damon's shirt desperately "We…we need to leave. I'm so sorry. It's not s-safe here anymore. We have to leave before they come!"

He took in her appearance with a deep frown on his face "Are you hurt? I smell blood."

"Didn't you hear me? We have to leave! Now! PLEASE!" she screamed the last part.

Damon decided to question her later. He lifted her in his arms and took her to his car. After he placed her in the back he quickly went to the driver's seat and started the engine. "What happened?" he asked sharply, looking at her from the mirror "Hermione! Don't fall asleep damn it! Tell me what the hell happened to you. Who were those people I just killed?"

"Voldemort" she gasped, as if struggling to breathe "I was kidnapped. They tortured me. I…I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't- I won't betray Harry! I won't!"

Damon's hand tightened on the wheel and his eyes darkened in anger "Hermione…"

"Damon I'm _scared._" she cried "I tried to be brave. I did! But I'm-I'm just scared now. I've always been scared!"

Damon felt his own eyes fill with tears but he held them back. He gritted his teeth. He would _destroy_ the people who hurt her, he vowed to himself. They would beg for death.

"Shh, it's over. They won't hurt you again. I promise." he said softly "Hermione, are you bleeding? I…I smell blood. Fresh blood"

Damon noticed her heart beat quicken and glanced back at her with a worried expression "Answer me Hermione."

"I…my…Damon…th-the-they…" she broke into sobs again " I think…I think I need some of your blood to…to heal. I c-can't go to a h-hospital. You'll have to h-help me."

Damon suddenly pulled the car to a noisy stop when he reached his destination. He quickly got out of the car and picked Hermione up from the back seat. He practically ran towards the house in front of them and pounded on the door until finally Elena opened it. Her eyes widened as she looked at them. "Damon what-"

But he didn't let her finish, he quickly rushed past her and placed Hermione on the living room couch.

"Damon what the hell is going on?" Elena yelled from behind him "Oh my God. Is that…is that _Hermione_?"

Damon's head snapped towards her in shock "You _know_ her?"

"She's my cousin!" She yelled, pushing Damon out of the way to get a better look at her "What happened to her?"

He bit down on his wrist roughly before pressing it against Hermione's mouth gently "Drink baby. That's it."

Elena looked at him furiously "Damon what the hell is going on?" she asked, repeating her earlier question "Who did this to her?"

Before he could answer Hermione grabbed his shirt, bringing his attention on her "Damon" she started weakly "Tell your brother to…leave…the house. It's…not…safe…"

Damon ran a hand through her hair gently "Don't worry about that. Just keep drinking" then he turned to Elena "Call Stefan and tell him to leave the house ASAP." Elena nodded and glanced at Hermione for half a second before quickly leaving.

After a few more seconds Damon slowly pulled his wrist away from her "Do you feel better?"

Hermione nodded her head before her eyes suddenly turned fearful "Damon I don't have my wand! How am I supposed to protect us if I don't have my wand!?"

"Hermione listen to me. You have to calm down OK? Everything is going to be OK. You're safe here." he said, trying to reassure her.

"_No!"_ she screamed hysterically "Don't you see? Nothing is ever going to be OK! Nothing will ever be OK while that bastard is still breathing! I need to see Harry."

Damon grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently "Snap out of it!" he demanded "Calm down right now Hermione or I'm going to compel you."

Hermione turned her head away from him. "Please, no compulsion. Please." she begged.

Damon's heart broke at the sight of her so weak. He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder "OK...No compulsion. But just please calm down. For me?"

She took a deep breath and nodded weakly. "Damon…where are we?"

He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before answering "At your cousin's, apparently."

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked around the house, her mind finally focusing slightly "Y-You know Elena and Jeremy?"

Damon nodded "Yeah, we're…friends."

"They saw me? They saw me like this?" she asked feeling embarrassed and scared. How was she going to explain her state to them?

"Just Elena." he answered shortly, as if the whole thing didn't matter in the slightest.

She nodded in reluctant acceptance and buried her face in his chest "I-I missed you."

Damon could feel himself tensing up in anger. Even though he knew now was _definitely _not the time he couldn't help asking "Then why did you do that to me?"

"I didn't want to lose you. He's going to kill me Damon. And he wants to kill everyone that I love. I couldn't let him get to you. I don't regret it." she finished passionately.

He gritted his teeth but stayed quit. _Now is not the time_.

"A-Are you terribly angry with me?"

Damon was saved from answering by Elena who had returned to the living room with her cell phone in hand.

"Hermione?" she asked softly.

* * *

A/N= What did you think? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

_"I don't want to see you again!"_

_Damon's eyes were wide with confusion "What are you talking about? I don't understand what-"_

_"What's there to understand? Just get out of my _life!_" she yelled, shoving him away from her._

_He grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him until she was right in front of him "Tell me what's wrong!"_

_Her resolve weakened for a second and she placed a hand on his chest "You have to go." she said more softly "It's not safe for you to be around me anymore."_

_His hand tightened on her arm and he looked at her with a devotion she had never witnessed before "I'll never leave you. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about but I will NEVER leave you. Do you understand?"_

_She tried pulling away from him "You have to. Just like my parents had to."_

_"What the hell did you _do_ Hermione?" he whispered angrily "What the fuck are you involved in?"_

_She looked away from him. Her heart was breaking. And she couldn't hold on much longer. She had to get this over with before he could see her crumble. She finally yanked her arm out of his grasp and glared at him "None of your business. Now get lost Damon…before I _make you_."_

_His eyes flashed red for half a second before returning to their normal color. "Tell me what's wrong!"_

_She looked up at him angrily and placed the tip of her wand to his temple "Imperio!"_

_She looked at his relaxed expression with tear filled eyes "I w-want you to go to your home town a-and make a new life for yourself. I want you to never think about me again until the next time we see each other and I wan- I want you to stay away from England until I find you." pause "I lo-love you Damon." she said, a tear escaping her eyes. "So much…now _go!_"_

_Damon nodded emotionlessly and walked away from her._

_Hermione buried her face in her hands and wept._

* * *

She felt an involuntary smile grace her lips as her eyes fell on Elena. "Hey"

Elena rushed to her side and gave her a soft hug, careful not to hurt her "What happened to you?" she cried "I can't believe you're here! Are you in trouble?"

Hermione made a noise that was something between a sob and a laugh "Big big trouble…and I'm really tired…"

Damon quickly stood up and lifted her in his arms before she could protest "I'll take her to your room." he informed Elena.

Elena nodded "Of course"

They were inside Elena's room mere seconds later and Damon gently placed Hermione on Elena's bed. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face and sighed "What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

"Voldemort wanted me to tell him where to find Harry" she replied sleepily "He captured me a few weeks ago…I don't know how much more I could have lasted in there."

Damon placed a chair next to the bed and sat down "I told you he was bad should never have-"

Hermione's eyes hardened "Harry is an amazing man. And I would be happy to die for him any day of the week."

"You nearly _did._" he snapped. A few seconds passed in silence "Why did you come here Hermione?"

She rubbed her eyes before answering "They thought I was taking them to the Order's headquarters. I took a chance. I was hoping you would be the one we ran into because I doubt your brother would kill someone just because a stranger said so."

Damon shook his head "That's too easy. Someone as smart as Voldemort wouldn't send only three Death Eaters to the Order's headquarters and he sure as hell wouldn't have taken _your_ word for it."

Hermione sat up on the bed with a groan "I know. He _wanted_ Harry to find me. Because he knew that Harry would go absolutely _crazy_ if he found out that…em..."

Damon's eyes narrowed suspiciously "If he found out _what_?"

She took a deep breath "If he…found out I was tortured."

He didn't believe her "No, you wanted to say something else. What were you going to say?"

"Back off Damon" she snapped "I have to make contact with the Order but I…I don't have a wand. Do you know any witches or wizards that live here?"

Damon's fists clenched at the sudden change of subject. He _would_ find out later. "I know a witch but she's not like you. She doesn't have a wand."

Hermione's eyes lightened up with interest "So she's a Wiccan? That's brilliant! Take me to her now."

He rolled his eyes "Yeah…no. You need rest. It can wait."

She grabbed on to his hand suddenly and looked at him with determination. "It _can't _wait. There is _no _time Damon. There's a war going on. I _can't _rest. I have to help. _Take me_ to the witch before I go find her myself."

He removed her hand from his and glared at her "_You _are not going anywhere. You're in no _condition _to go anywhere. And if you don't get the rest you _need_ I'll have no choice but to compel you."

"Stop saying that!" she yelled, her heart racing in panic "_I don't want to be compelled!"_

"Then get to sleep" he ordered before standing up to leave. He felt guilty using her fear against her but she really wasn't giving him a choice.

"_Prick!_"

* * *

Jeremy sneaked into Elena's room hours later. Although he was pretty sure Damon could hear him enter he didn't particularly care at the moment. Hermione was here. And he was pretty sure she was hurt or otherwise they wouldn't hide her.

His eyes widened as they took in her features. The left side of her face was nearly completely bruised and her lips were a purplish color that reminded him of a corpse.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. Hey eyes widened with joy and her face broke into a smile. She got up from the bed with a groan and practically ran towards him and engulfed him in a big hug.

He wrapped him arms around her tightly "Oh my God. Hermione…"

"Jeremy!" she cried "Merlin I've missed you so much! How are you?"

"You woke her?" Growled a voice from behind him before he could answer.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Jeremy turned around to see Damon behind him scowling "No…I just wanted to check on her."

Damon gave him a forced smile "Well as you can see she's…fine. Now get the fuck out before I call your sister."

Hermione grabbed Jeremy's hand before he could move "Hey!" she snapped at Damon "You can't tell him what to do. Jer is my family and I want him to stay!"

"You need rest." he said, gritting his teeth "Get the hell out kid."

"_You_ get out!" she yelled, frustrated "and stop butting into my business!"

Damon took a predatory step towards her that had her backing up slightly "Then stop acting like a child."

"_Excuse me?"_

Jeremy looked between them with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. He listened to them argue for a couple of minutes before finally giving up and leaving the room quietly.

"Why are you acting like such a prick?" Hermione yelled.

"Why are _you _acting like such a bitch?" Damon responded with a glare.

_You like being my little bitch don't you…hmm..that's it baby…scream for me…_

Her eyes filled with tears and she turned away from him, trying to calm down her racing heart. It was over…it was over.

She flinched when Damon placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry. _Please_ don't cry." he whispered softly moving into her personal space. "Tell me what happened to you."

Hermione turned to look at him with fearful eyes "Why does it even matter? It's over now isn't it?"

"I need to know." he insisted in a low voice. "I need to know how to _help_ you."

She shook her head sadly "You can't help me Damon. You can't always be my hero. I wish you could…but not this time."

He cupped her face in his hands. "Tell me"

She tired moving away "No"

"Tell me Hermione."

"N-no."

"Please."

Hermione took a deep breath before looking into his eyes with shame "They…they rap-raped me."

Damon's hands froze and his mind shut down for a complete minute before hot red fury rushed inside him with a vengeance. His arms dropped to his sides and dark veins appeared under his eyes.

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down. He was disgusted by her.

Suddenly they heard someone knock on the door. Hermione lifted her head to see Stefan standing by the doorway.

"You must be Stefan." she said, breaking the silence. She moved past a frozen Damon and extended her hand in greeting "I'm Hermione. I'm sorry for the inconvenience I've caused"

Stefan shook her hand and gave a small nod before turning his gaze towards his brother. He was _worried_ about him. Even though his emotions were switched off. What did _that_ mean?

Hermione bit her lower lip and looked between the brothers with a frown on her face "Right…so I'll just be leaving then." She took an uneven breath "Thanks for everything Damon" she said without looking at him.

She hadn't moved more than two steps before Damon suddenly appeared in front of her "Where are you going?" he asked in a hoarse voice, his expression heartbreaking.

"I'm going to find a witch." she answered in the strongest voice she could manage "I can't stay here any longer than necessary. I've already put everyone in danger. And Harry is probably coming up with an idiotic plan to rescue me from Voldemort as we speak."

"You're looking for a witch?" Stefan asked before Damon could respond "I could take you to Bonnie."

Damon turned his head towards Stefan sharply and glared at him "_No _you won't because _she_ is not _leaving."_

Hermione crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly "You can't keep me here. This is my family's house. They'll never force me to do anything and they won't let you to do it either."

She could practically see the vein in his head throbbing "I'm sure they'll be a lot more cooperative if I told them what happened t-"

A slap echoed through the room and Damon's head turned from the force of it. Hermione looked at him with tear filled eyes "You are a _bastard_ Damon Salvatore. You want to use that against me? Fine. Tell them. I don't bloody care. I'll probably _die_ in this war anyway so it doesn't really _matter_ what others think of me does it?"

Then, taking advantage of his shock she pushed him out of the way and left the room.

He stood there in silence for a few seconds before burying his face in his hands. Stefan looked at him with pity before moving to place a hand on his shoulder. Damon quickly shrugged it off and walked to the other side of the room "Get out."

Stefan nodded and left the room. One thing was obvious. Hermione Granger was one of the very few people that his brother actually cared about.

* * *

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! So what do you think? Don't forget to leave a review! ;) 3


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